A dot of beige on the southern edge of Massachusetts, Southwick is the last remaining piece of the Bay State classified as "moderate drought" on the Drought Monitor's April 18 map. The swaths of yellow represent "abnormally dry" area, and the white sections have no classification. [Map: Courtesy/U.S. Drought Monitor]

BOSTON (STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE) – Massachusetts would be free of an official drought classification if it weren’t for Southwick. The small town whose borders plunge south into Connecticut is the last part of the state considered by the U.S. Drought Monitor to be experiencing a drought.

In total, just 0.09% of the state remains under a drought, and all of that area falls into the Monitor’s least severe drought category. At the drought’s height in September, more than 52% of the state was in the Monitor’s extreme drought classification, which spurred widespread outdoor water bans and other conservation measures.

However, Thursday the Drought Monitor reported that 51.86% of Massachusetts is sufficiently hydrated, the greatest percentage in that category since last May. According to the Monitor, 48.14% of the state is “abnormally dry” but not dry enough to be classified as a drought.

Though Southwick is the only part of Massachusetts categorized as experiencing a “moderate drought,” it is not alone. More than 56% of Connecticut, which surrounds Southwick on three sides, is also considered by the Monitor to be under a “moderate drought.”